I Am Not In The Mood

Yep. And there are twice as many today. It’s pretty bad when Don notices them and says, as he did this morning, “We really have to start raking leaves!”

But it’s raining today and will be raining tomorrow, so we can’t do anything yet. That’s a good thing, because I am definitely under the weather. Therefore, I am not in the mood to deal with falling leaves, especially wet ones.

I feel like crap.

Consequently, this will be a short post, my friends. I’ll try to string a coherent thought or two together and then I’ll sign off.

There’s really nothing new to report, I tried to keep busy yesterday. I did laundry, vacuumed, cleaned, went to the grocery store, picked up some books I had ordered at our library…and I just felt crappier as the day went on. So today, taking it easy is the order for the day. Don and Dan are playing at our local eatery tonight, but I’m staying home. With Don’s blessing, I might add; I think he’d stop me if I tried to go.

If I didn’t love her already, this would have done it: on a podcast I listened to, Bill Clinton said that Hillary Clinton ‘has read every book Louise Penny has written.” (She also loves Donna Leon and Elena Ferrante.)

Comments

Windy and rainy here in Wisconsin too. My husband caught a flight to Tokyo early this morning, then on to Australia and I’m stuck at home. But it’s a wonderful, introspective day – perfect weather to curl up with a good book. Feel better soon.

I am so sorry you feel so yucky. The cinnamon roll should do wonders for you, especially if it is warm. :) I have always loved Autumn, even the leaves on the ground. I love raking, which most people think is weird! It was something I did with my dad every year.
Yesterday my daughter decided to watch Mr. Robot. I think if I squeal one more time when Don shows up, she may ban me from the TV!
I hope you feel better soon. Tell Don to break a leg tonight!

It’s about to start raining here. October already, but we had the most wonderful weather until today. In two days, the sun is going to be back, but the temperatures will be lower. Enjoy your treat and keep warm.

I raked the pine needles in my backyard for 15 minutes yesterday and half the green bin is full, and that’s after pushing everything down so I’d have more room for more raking. Never ending… Virtual hug hug…feel better. Cinnamon buns are good medicine! The best I ever ate was on a cruise. Too bad (or maybe it’s good) that I didn’t discover them until the next to last day of the cruise…

Sorry to hear you are still under the weather. But, the weather really doesn’t help does it…still windy, rainy and generally gloomy here too. I’m sure that cinnamon bun will perk you right up! Stay warm…and take lots of naps! ;)

It is rainy and grey here today. The one thing that has brightened my day — I am sooooo looking forward to Saturday Night Live tonight. I need the comic relief it provides in regard to the elections. I hope you feel better.

Sorry to butt in, but I love Jon Stewart, as well. Sure do miss his take on things. Samantha Bee does a pretty good job, too, in a totally different style. At first, I wasn’t a fan, but she just gets better and better.

Hubs called on his way home from the dog park this AM and asked if I would like a sweet roll. From experience, I can say it did help me to have a lovely morning!! I am sure that your cinnamon bun will be delightful. Hope it isn’t the kind of cold where your head hurts. I HATE when that happens because then I can’t read all day!

I got worried the other day when some university professor, who hasn’t missed the pick in years and years, predicted Orange Hair will win. So, my husband and I talked about it at length. My husband has studied this subject a lot because he, too, is very concerned about the election outcome…and I don’t understand the whole thing, but he says when you study the electoral college and what states he will or won’t win in, there’s no way Trump can win. I’m hanging on to this theory for dear life.

Yeah, I read that, too, but since I’ve never heard of him before now, I’m not taking him seriously. I’ve also seen a breakdown of the electoral college from pundits who say there’s no way he can win. But I won’t fully believe that until I see the announcement on November 8th.

It is Fall after all and leaves add to the ambiance. :) I had some upsetting news this morning so when my teenage neighbor sent over homemade chocolate chip cookies (her first time making them from a recipe I gave her), I ate several (something I don’t usually do). Take it easy.

Sorry you feel lousy…there is nothing worse than ” just Not feeling well”. I am sure you know Louise Penny’s beloved Michael passed away. He was buried today, her email was lovely. Hope you fell better soon.

Wow, I’m so sorry you’re not feeling well, Claudia! Sometimes we do have to listen to the body and just shut down for a little time; let it rest and repair. You know how I had that terrible fall some weeks ago…still having headaches although they’ve become spotty in the day rather than constant each day…well, I thought I could just keep going and doing things after the injuries but, wow, I hit the wall. The doctors said ‘Take it easy” but I didn’t heed, and it made things worse. I later read on the web how important it was to have been giving in to it and keeping low. I wasn’t trying to be stupid but I hate THAT much inactivity; sometimes, though, it’s what is necessary.

I don’t know much about falling leaves. Don’t see it much in SoCalif. Not carpets of them like that, anyway. Forgive more stupidity/ignorance, but what happens if you just leave them? Don’t they create good mulch as long as they’re not in your walk path?

I know. I hate inactivity, as well. I don’t handle it very well.
I keep the leaves on my garden beds to serve as mulch. But the others? No. I rake them. My experience with them is that never truly turn into mulch on the grass, and I’d just have to rake them up in the spring. Wet leaves under snow that has melted does not make me happy.

Rain and blowing leaves here today and snow in the forecast for next week. I’m off to the outdoor farmer’s market for vegetables, but now I might have to look for home baking too. Cinnamon buns sound like the perfect antidote to a cold and gloomy day.

I’m with you on Hillary. We desperately need a woman in the office of President! My husband and I were sitting next to some people in Perkins Restaurant. They seemed to be in their late 70’s, or early 80’s. They were all for Trump and compared him to Eisenhower. It was interesting to listen to their rational.
Take care and get well. Rest and enjoy a good book~

I just let the leaves alone to go back to Mother Earth as they always have…She needs them to replenish the soil for us…At least that’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it..lol..besides…I love the crunch when I walk through them…I too have hade my limit with the nasty Hillary talk…I am also NOT IN THE MOOD…and you know WHEN she is President they will go on to criticize every little thing she does or says…narrow mindedness does not die easily…it just keeps on being stupid…I am also still sick for 3 days now and can’t keep much food down…I have an outpatient surgery scheduled for Monday afternoon so if I’m not better real soon I will have to cancel it…I think I may head to Urgent Care today…If only a cinnamon bun would help..lol…Take care Claudia…

I let them go back to Mother Earth in the garden beds, but not on the grass. We have too much of it and they are too slippery and they never fully disappear and I have to rake them in the spring. I’d rather do it now and only have to deal with the excess in the garden beds in then Spring.

Your neighbor chiming in. I, too, am under the weather. Sinuses, sniffles, coughs, exhaustion. Maybe something in the air in Ulster County? Or maybe the election. Or what happened in my company yesterday. I worked remotely on Fridays and while working online, an e-mail came to us from our new 10-year-old British head of editorial. Essentially, they fired 75% of the senior editorial staff. Chief editor, International editor, all copy editors (except me for now). These are people who have been with the magazine for 30 or more years. No warning. In the scribe that accompanied the new organizational chart was another pdf that explained the reasons for the firm-wide firings. Articles are too long and our readers don’t have the attention span anymore to follow more than a few paragraphs. Articles are taking too much time to write, vet and edit. We need younger people who can communicate in a few sentences very fast with no need for editing. Instead of 7 very well researched and edited monthly articles, we want 15 short online snapshots to go out daily. No time to fact or quality check. I was chastised recently for taking time to vet the 1,000s of facts that I do in conjunction with my job. The sheer mass of what I have to edit means I work when I get home late into the night, when I get up at 5am and throughout the weekend. I was being pressured to go faster and with a lighter editorial and “truth” touch. I responded that I was going as fast as I could, but I would not sacrifice the integrity of what we publish. Yesterday, on our company website, I see my job posted, which means I am next on the chopping block after 28 years there and a year and a half from full retirement. What struck me was the final job requirement: Must be comfortable with ambiguity. My head is spinning. When have you ever seen that on a job posting?

Oh, Tina. My lord, this is terrible! I am so, so sorry! What have we come to? “comfortable with ambiguity” Really? And this company, to let employees of 30 years go? Who ARE these people and how can they be so callous? Have they given anyone a chance to stay on and explore ambiguity? You must be reeling, my friend. xoxoxo

It’s so systemic. And my outrage is on so many levels. Essentially, they are dumbing down for their younger audience. These are editors who are among some of the best and brightest. With kids in college, and mortgages, who are being told they’re dinosaurs. Passe. No forewarning except they brought these firecracker kids to senior positions so it seemed something was up. What they don’t realize is that they, too, will be old someday and tossed into the refuse heap. And they said to us in the letter to be sensitive to those losing their jobs as they fulfill their last 2 weeks. They want us to be sensitive?That’s a given. I’ve been there 27 years and have twice rescued the biggest money maker in the entire international franchise from being shut down. Just last week I caught an error that their new system and pool of MBAs missed. An error so egregious, that it would have cost them a huge loss of credibility and eventual erosion of their client base. Massive error. So let me go and see where it takes them. Noble wants them to fire me or have me quit, only to have to rehire me to produce their reports. But I am too old for that bluff as I am so close to full retirement. And yes, “Comfortable with Ambiguity” is just about the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen on a job posting. They should have said, “Be Prepared to Look the Other Way When Producing False Information.” How close are we to Fahrenheit 451?

Dull, chilly, dreary, windy, rainy Fall day. If such a thing exists, I’d say it’s a PERFECT time to feel miserable. To stay in & settle in & snuggle in with feet up & a nice soft something covering you to your chin. For something hot & possibly nourishing & even medicinal to help rid you of the misery. For time to read or sleep – or both. Feel better soon… ☕️

One of my oldest HS friends just posted he will not be voting at all this year since he simply cannot support Hilary. My blood boils, my blood pressure rises and I simply can no longer deal. I don’t know what to wish for, an end to this and perhaps the fall of our country and severe global issues or for this insanity to continue on indefinitely so we don’t have to face a nightmare possibly happening? I am not in the mood either..in fact I know that a lot of my recent blue days have their roots in that %^%$#@# orange man’s cellar. sigh

Calgon take me away :D
BTW I am # 19 out of 35 on the request at my library for Penny’s 2016 release. Read em all in order so far.. Wish I could own them all but after Robert Parker I stopped buying. His collection is one of the few I’ve kept.

I hope today finds you feeling better! Autumn is late in coming to the mid-west this year. Leaves are still pretty green, with just a tinge of yellow and some are just going straight to brown & the ground. I am tired of this summer-like weather and look forward to cooler days.

Claudia, I’m just catching up on my e-mails. May I take a stab at this leaf thing.
If you have a few, to some leaves on your lawn your probably ok, but if you have leaves spread thick, or at least covering the lawn, You CAN kill your lawn. Because they make a barrier, to water, nutrients, and most of all AIR! So you are right they cannot all break down, over the ground,especiall frozen. So you see You have been right all along. -Judy A-

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I live in a little cottage in the country with my husband and dog. It's a sweet place, sheltered by old trees and surrounded by gardens. The inside is full of the things we love. I love to write, I love my camera, I love creating. My decorating style is eclectic but if I had to call it anything, I'd call it Christmas in Connecticut, after all those forties movies with comfy cottage style.

I've worked in the theater for more years than I can count. I'm currently a voice, speech, dialect and text coach freelancing on Broadway, off Broadway, and in regional theater.

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